Tag: faith

Posted on

Beneath the Healing Experience

Do you wonder why some folks are healed and others are not?

If you do, you are not alone. It would seem surprising that any one of us has escaped the need for healing, whether it be physical, emotional, mental, or spiritual.

No doubt there are many ideas, strategies and therapies that are available to treat any condition, but how does one know which is most likely to work?

Perhaps the simple answer is…we don’t know.

Professional health care workers, social and psychological therapists, energy workers, spiritual counselors, everyone associated with any field of study or practice, may not know.

Maybe this is because we are so complicated and the nature of our illness or discomfort crosses barriers. Maybe no one in the healing professions can treat us effectively because they may not understand our full picture.

So, you may be wondering, where do we go for help?

I leave to you that decision, but I offer you this.

I believe all healing happens within us. I also believe that help is always present to me. In my case, it is Lia, a part of god, I call upon. Lia is an ethereal feminine voice that speaks to me with sweetness and wisdom. Not only is she available to me, but she is also available to you. She waits for you to ask for her presence and once you do, she appears.

As I experience illnesses and discomforts, I wonder how I will ever be restored to health. I am a person who likes answers. I am a person who needs answers and when I am without them, it adds to my challenges.

So, I reach out to Lia for help. And she comes and speaks to me.

In the Bible, Jesus is said to heal others. There are lots and lots of stories and they center around folks who were unwell before their interaction with Jesus, but then become well.

How?

I want to know. Maybe you do too. So, I ask Lia about it, and this is what she told me. As always, I leave it up to you to feel whether there is truth in her words for you.

“Yeshiwa (Jesus) never healed anyone. They came to him with the power to heal themselves already inside of them. Yeshiwa recognized this and offered them the choice of believing and having faith in being restored to health. He saw within them those who were ready and those who were not. He knew the outcome through knowing this.”

Stunning and not at all what I was expecting.

Lia continued, “Yeshiwa asked what those who came to him were seeking so that they would confirm their desire for healing. And once they did, once they made the choice to be restored, their faith made them well.”

I was still stunned but now I understood. And yet, I wondered, how does this apply to me?

Lia heard my thoughts and said, “Choosing health and wellness is up to you. Imagine for a moment that one day you choose health, but the next you choose doubt. And imagine it goes on and on like this. Do you suppose that you will experience only wellness?”

Ouch, that kind of hit home. What it also did was open my eyes, my mind, and my heart. If I am never consistent with my thoughts and beliefs, how can I expect the outcomes I say I desire.

My answer is…I can’t realistically. I have to shift.

Since I have the power within me to heal, I see the need to make the same choice over and over again, without diluting it with contrary feelings and doubts, because once I do, my power is lost.

I need to choose to believe in the healing power I possess and to choose it each time it comes to mind. I need to choose it with my mind, my heart, and my spirit. It is only then that I will be healed.

Thank you, Lia, for your divine wisdom.

Posted on

The Nature of Forgiveness

Do you find that you are able to forgive others?

Are you able to ask for forgiveness from others?

I realize both of these offer their own challenges. Life is often messy and complicated and it’s easy to fall out of harmony with family, friends, and others. Even when doing our best, we may offend or hurt them or be hurt by them.

Balance is easy to disturb but not as easy to mend.

Much is said about forgiveness. There is a school of thought which says an apology must be offered first before forgiveness can be granted. Another school takes a far different approach and says that forgiveness easily given releases everyone.

After struggling for most of my life, I was finally able to come to a place of peace with the whole forgiveness process. It happened as I wrote about it. A story took shape inside me and needed to be brought into the light. This is how my book, Little Buddha (Book One) was born. In the first chapter, a man, Sam asks a wise six-year-old sage (Little Buddha, Claire) if she can help him understand the nature of forgiveness.

Here is the passage.

“Do you think you could answer a question for me?” I asked a little timidly. “Perhaps” she said. “Well, I was wondering if you could tell me about forgiveness. Do you know anything about that, even though you’re so young?” I admit, I thought I was being foolish asking, but in light of her wisdom and my lack of it, I didn’t see how I had anything to lose. She sat for a minute or so filling the bucket to the top with dry white sand.

“Can you imagine something?” she asked. “Sometimes I have a hard time with that, but I’ll try hard”, I responded.

“OK”, she said, “Imagine that my bucket is you. It’s everything you think and feel and experience during your life. Imagine that everything that is within you- YOU chose to put there. Nothing got in without your choosing. Nothing. Whether conscious or not, every thought, feeling, idea, reaction, and prejudice. Every cruel word, every kind gesture, every act of faith, every indifference, everything. Imagine that each of these things takes up space, just like the grains of sand in my bucket. Once it’s full it’s very hard to find more space for anything, no matter how valuable or important. There are ways you can empty part of your bucket if you choose. One way is forgiveness. But first you have to imagine one more thing.

“Can you imagine that everyone else here is just like you? They’ve lived their lives filling their buckets and sometimes they don’t have any space left either. They’re doing the best they can with what weighs them down. In their hearts, they too wish to be free and to have open space to experience more of the beautiful things in life. But they too don’t know how. 

“They probably sense it, dream about it and desperately want it just like you do. This is very important to know. To forgive anyone anything, requires YOU make a conscious choice. No one else can do it for you.”

She eyed me carefully saying, “Now bring to mind something which begs forgiveness. Feel the space it holds within you. The weight of it, the size, color, and dimension. Imagine knowing it needn’t exist and that you can fill its space with something beautiful. Now, close your eyes. Welcome it in. Let it rest in front of you. Believe that it has served its full purpose for you but does so no longer. Look inside your heart and allow love and compassion to open within. Breathe easily. Smile for a moment. Know that no matter what, this decision is up to you and no one else. Picture your love and compassion surrounding you and the focus of your forgiveness. Now, allow it to fade and fade and fade until it disappears. Breathe and feel the space inside you open. Feel the sunshine enter you and the air move around you. Listen for the sound of your own being. Sense the room created inside of you, now open for that which does serve you. For beauty. For wholeness.”

I believe that these words came ‘through’ me and are not my own. They have more strength, wisdom, and insight than I possess. I believe they were meant for me, to help me, to free me. And now, I offer them in the hope that they do the same for you.

PS

Should you want to know more, this book is available through Amazon in print and eBook versions.

Posted on

Uncertainty

One of the things I find fascinating is that we usually pay attention to weather forecasts, hoping that our favorite forecaster is able to accurately predict what’s going to happen. My personal observation is that they are very often wrong, especially if it really matters, like when you try to plan a cook-out or a day at the beach.

And, believing that the weather is going remain true for any 10-day forecast is, I believe, as likely as winning the lottery.

I thought to myself, perhaps I’m being too harsh. Maybe I ought to investigate and see if there are any accuracy records being kept about the forecasts being made. It turns out that there are.

For calendar year 2020 in my area of the world, there were about twelve forecast networks evaluated and they ranged from 39%, all the way up to 79% accurate. Maybe I was just listening to the wrong forecaster and should shift to the most reliable one, The Weather Channel, in case you wanted to know.

Or perhaps I would benefit from accepting that the weather is unknowable and changeable at the drop of a hat.

It seems to me that we are generally uncomfortable with the idea that some things in life are a mystery. They are beyond our control, no matter how much we want to know the answer or feel a sense of certainty.

And, there is often a part of us that wants to believe that someone else knows and will share the answers with us and increase our comfort level. This seems to be true for the weather and it’s true for many other things as well.

Even though some folks might not be willing to freely admit it, many subscribe to fortune-telling in one of its many forms, like checking out their daily horoscope, seeing a psychic or having a Tarot or palm reading done. When we sense a lack of control over our lives and the outcomes of our actions, we tend to look for someone who can assure or reassure us that we are going to be okay.

I’ve had several Tarot readings in my life and have found them spectacularly accurate. While some others share the success I’ve experienced, there are those who believe they are utter nonsense. I take this to mean, they were not accurate for them or they didn’t hear what they wanted to hear, or perhaps, they just can’t imagine anyone having this type of ‘insider information’.

Well maybe that’s not exactly true, because when it comes to religion, a great number of people believe that their religious leaders, by whatever name, can tell them what they need to know. Not only that, they believe they can tell them what to do and how to act, in order to find the certainty, they are looking for.

After all, the religious leader they follow have received formal training and studied the religious texts and know the ceremonies and rituals of their faith. They must know what they are talking about and be able to provide all of the answers to their followers.

The difficulty here is that the answers provided don’t always create the certainty that folks are seeking. Even within the religious community there are a great number of uncertainties, especially when life becomes challenging and answers become elusive.

So, then what? Where is certainty to be found?

I will share my beliefs with you, knowing you will choose only what feels right to you.

I believe that all answers and all certainty is found within. You have the truth within you. You can connect with the divine, by whatever name you choose, and ask for whatever guidance you need and it will be provided. That has been my personal experience over the last twenty-four years, since I began having intimate two-way conversations with (god), and it can be the same for you. I know this to be the truth, because others who begin their own conversations with (god), tell me it is their truth and certainty.

You are a part of the divine and all that you desire can be revealed to you.

SPECIAL NOTE: If you would like to know more about how you can have your own personal relationship with (god) and discover your own answers, you can check out my book, talking with (god), which you’ll find under the BOOK page on this website.

Note: To make a comment, please click on the Post Name, then scroll to the bottom of the page, write your comment in the box and hit enter.

Posted on

To Know Flow

I’d like to share a poem I wrote in 1975 when I was 23 years old. At the time I was about to start my ‘real’ working career with two part time jobs; as a youth director at a church in Albany and as a teller at an Albany bank. It was mid-summer and I was finding my way in the world and seeking direction from whatever or whoever would speak to me from inside myself. I was surprised by the clarity of the voice that responded. The poem has stayed with me all this time, which I have to assume means something. Here it is.

to know flow

goals are the rocks of bondage

time is the eternal essence of mind

mind the essential ice to melt

acceptance is the bearer of peace

wisdom is the moderator of the flow

flow is the way of life

I’m a big believer in folks making up their own mind about things. You are certainly free to interpret this any way you choose, or read it and pass right on by. However, if you’d like to know why it means something to me, please keep reading.

goals

Perhaps you were taught to honor goals like I was. They were cornerstones to reach for. Inherently valuable and worthy of all of the time it might take to achieve them. They were what grown-ups ‘should’ strive for and the promise seemed to be that they would make you happy and satisfied with your life.

While this has been true in some cases, it has more often been that my goals were unattainable, or at least not achievable in the ways I want to experience them. Most of them became ‘rocks of bondage’.

It was not until recently that my vision shifted away from ‘goals’ and moved toward ‘aims’. This is a much more gently word and concept. It implies a certain amount of freedom, because the emphasis is on the direction of your movement, not the final outcome. I try now to leave goals out of the process and instead envision those things I am aiming for in my life. Maybe you might want to try this with one of your goals and see what happens.

time

It seems to me that everyone knows time is a man-made construct, an arbitrarily agreed upon decision to break up days into hours and minutes. I get how necessary it is, but somehow, I’m uncomfortable with the idea. I’ve never worn a watch for this reason and yet somehow, I’ve managed to show up for all of life’s meetings. I’ve also discovered that time is malleable. The same fixed amount of time can seem incredibly short or excruciatingly long, depending on the circumstances. Time seems to be an ‘essence of the mind’.

mind

Everyone has one. Everyone needs one. But, I’ve seen in my life how often my mind wants to be in charge, as if it always knows best. Knowledge is a wonderful thing, but to me, wisdom is far superior, so that ‘mind is the essential ice to melt.’

acceptance

Even though I’ve given intolerance, defiance and resistance every possible chance to solve my problems, they have all failed me. Quite miserably, in fact. Only acceptance has offered me a way forward, guiding me gently, yet firmly and being for me, ‘a bearer of peace.’

wisdom

As I see it, wisdom comes from the inside of me and knowledge comes from the outside of me. Wisdom follows a pathway through my feelings, while knowledge moves through my mind. When it comes to trusting, I choose wisdom over knowledge every time, because I recognize it as ‘the moderator of the flow.’

flow

Here is the truest way to feel and know your truth, are you moving against or with the current of your life? It is really a simple question and so revealing. Would life actually be trying to move you in a direction that did not benefit you? Not only is this a question of flow, but of faith. I hope that my choices are made in such a way that ‘flow is the way of my life’.

Posted on

Stilling the Storm

I believe in the value of wisdom wherever you find it. Sometimes it’s found by observing the natural world. And, at other times, it can be seen through the eyes of a child or inside a vivid dream that connects you to the world beyond.

I believe we all have our own individual religious or spiritual paths to travel, so I tend not to advocate for one version over another.

For me, I’ve also discovered incredible wisdom in the stories from Yeshiwa’s life. Yeshiwa, being the Aramaic name for Jesus.

I feel a very strong connection to Yeshiwa. I feel and hear the messages revealed and they speak truth to me. I’d like to share one with you, but I understand if you need or want to shy away.

                             *********************

There is a story about when Yeshiwa and his disciples were gathered along the shore of a great sea. They were sitting and talking and waiting for Yeshiwa to tell them what would be happening next in their lives. Where would they go and what would they be doing? Everything was so new to them. Many of them were fisherman by trade and understood much about fishing and the sea, but still knew almost nothing about Yeshiwa’s mission.

Yeshiwa spoke, telling them that he wished to cross the great sea and preach to whatever crowds would be there. So, they all got into a long wooden boat and pushed away from shore. Yeshiwa crawled toward the stern and immediately fell fast asleep.

The crossing would take many hours, as it was broad in this part of the sea and the current was running swiftly against them. Despite the disciples taking turns rowing, exhaustion overcame them all.

The fishermen were the first to become aware of a growing storm heading toward them. At first, the crests of each wave rose gently over the sides and spilled into the boat. But, as the fierce winds howled and the waves grew in size, more and more water filled the boat, threatening to overwhelm it.

Even the most seasoned fisherman became very afraid, worrying that their boat would sink and they would all be drowned.

The nearest to Yeshiwa shook him, over and over, until he awakened.

“Master, do you not see what is happening and how much danger we are in?”

Yeshiwa stood, raised his eyes to the furious sky, breathed out one breath and said, “Peace, be still.”

All was instantly calm and silent. And the sky returned to brilliant blueness and the water appeared as smooth as glass.

Yeshiwa sat and looked at the faces of his disciples. They were in awe. Never in their lives had they seen such a thing. How could this have happened? Who was this man, who had command over the wind and the sea?

Yeshiwa asked them, “Why were you afraid? Did you not know where to place your faith?”

The disciples cast their eyes downward and could not meet his gaze. They heard the gentleness in his voice, but understood so little of what he said and none could answer his questions.

Yeshiwa spoke to them saying, “Raise your eyes to mine my beloveds. Hear my words and place them deeply in your hearts, so that you may carry them with you always.”

“I tell you the truth, it falls to you to teach, as I have taught you. You are one with the Spirit and can not be separated. Not by wind or waves, nor by anything else that will ever happen in your lives. You may take this on faith, that you and I are one, always connected and never apart. No storm can change this, so be free inside your heart and rest in me.”

                                    *****************

I remember this story when my life is a storm. I close my eyes and fall into my heart, knowing that I am always connected, a part of the one. And I can say to any storm, “Peace, be still.”

Note: To make a comment, please click on the Post Name, then scroll to the bottom of the page, write your comment in the box and hit enter.